In the length of the interval between his early poems and his great work he resembles Milton; but widely different in the two cases had been the current of the intervening years.

Poetry written late in life is of course free from youthful crudity and extravagance.

It also escapes the youthful tendency to imitation.

Cowper's authorship is ushered in by Southey with a history of English poetry; but this is hardly in place; Cowper had little connexion with anything before him.

Even his knowledge of poetry was not great.